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January 5, 2005
Start of 2005 could be taxing
Of course, while we were celebrating the Christmas and New Year's holidays the government disinformation writers were actively utilizing the normal lack of media events to begin its campaign to convince the people of the need to again fork over huge sums of money. From our RINO governor to the state employees association; from the head of the largest school district to those tasked with providing government health programs, every bureaucratic entity began laying the groundwork for the need on the part of the Legislature to raise taxes yet again. In the case of the governor, getting passed the largest tax increase in state history appears to not be enough for his legacy. He is once again calling for increased spending, nixing the idea of any return of the excess taxes collected last year to the people, and not once cracking into laughter at how serious those tasked with providing the news seem to take him. What a poker player this guy must be. The only fiscal situation actually facing this state long term is the employee retirement system and he does not seem to be willing to openly address the sad shape it is in. While I understand it would be hard to discuss the need to fund ever higher retirement rates at the same time you desire to increase state employee wages, the lack of clarity on his part needs to be pointed out by someone. As a means to back his play, the state department of personnel, a clearly unbiased agency, states the disparity for state workers, who only received a small raise from the last tax hike, has grown compared to the public and private sector jobs. Nowhere does this survey indicate what private sector jobs might compare the ones at the state, but perhaps it should. After all, to compare apples to apples, shouldn't the department list which private jobs provide nearly guaranteed employment with medical benefits paid and specified retirement benefits approaching 90 percent of wages? One item the governor might wish to address is a change in the statute allowing for collective bargaining rights for non-state employees. Were this to happen, the 100 percent increase in salaries every 10 years might stop and the state workers plight of being so far behind them might diminish. But don't hold your breath. This governor's future rests almost entirely on largesse and good graces of the personnel retirement system. Thus, any change would be counterproductive to that future. Most disturbing of the recent calls for money comes from the one agency responsible for the near destruction of several states' financial health, the Medicaid system. This product of the Great Society has grown to nearly devour the budgets of states foolish enough to respond to calls for funding beyond the bare minimum. Don't get me wrong; this system is in place to help people who are not able to financially help themselves. With tax rates and confiscations of assets growing as they are, this program could one day be the only safety net available for health care as it is currently administered. No, the problem is the number of people requiring this service is growing at less than 6 percent annually, but the bureaucrats who fill out the forms require more and better office space, office systems and, of course, salaries if they are to continue doing what they do. They feel a 30 percent increase will cover it. And therein lies the rub. Why is it every office of government is allowed increase its cost to the taxpayers every year without even the slightest hint of opposition by those we elect to protect us. It is almost as if once elected, and probably at the swearing-in ceremony, they contract the "I forgot who put me here and why" syndrome. If these people want to have wages and salaries comparable to private companies, then they should prove they could provide a worthwhile service at a price benefiting everyone. Workers in the private sector must compete to exist and increase their productivity to keep their jobs. For those who have spent their entire lives in government, productivity is the unit cost of any service provided or product produced in relation to the existing revenue stream. Every day in the real world, workers are hired, fired or laid off. Companies once successful fail and go out of business, displacing hundred or thousands. People move to find better or accept better jobs knowing they will be required to produce even more than they used to, and they accept the challenge. What the citizens of this state need are elected officials who feel their pain and refuse to simply go meekly into the night of bureaucratic largesse. Do we have them today? Only time will tell. And if we don't, we better find them quickly, because there is only so much any civilization can afford and ours is rapidly approaching its limit of un-funded liabilities. Little writes from Pahrump. His column, "The Other Side," appears here on Wednesdays. |
